Best Winter Tires — Rick’s Picks on Brands

Best winter tires — Rick’s picks

As you can see in this post, lots of companies make lots of winter tire models. Some are made specifically for luxury and performance cars, while others are made for SUVs/CUVs and light trucks, and others just for cars. I’ve taken a look at the brands and come up with suggestions for the best winter tires.

Some are designed for better performance in deep snow, while others excel on ice. You never know what type of winter weather you’ll get, but you do know what types of surfaces cause you the most trouble in winter. For example, if you have a steep driveway that is ice-covered, steer your shopping to tires that work best in ice. I mean, what good is a winter tire if it can’t get your vehicle up your driveway?

What makes it a winter tire?

Winter tires have the following features
• Softer rubber compounds that flex in cold temperatures•
• Abrasive additives like silica to provide more traction
• Sipes that are molded into the tread blocks act like squeegees to remove water and grip the road
• Aggressive tread with open tread blocks to pack snow into the voids and then release it.

Who makes the best winter tires?

Michelin — Michelin combines winter rubber compounding with an aggressive tread design with interlocking 3-D sipes to improve stopping power to increase performance in slush and on ice.

Michelin offers three models; X-ICE SNOW, Latitude X-Ice Xi2, and Pilot Alpin. Which model you choose depends on the wheel size and type of vehicle you drive.

Bridgestone Blizzak — Blizzak takes a slightly different approach. They use special rubber compounding with silica additives, but they also include tubular cells and “bite particles” that improve traction. I like the Michelin X-ICE products, but I have to admit that the BLIZZAK is still my favorite winter tire.

©, 2020 Rick Muscoplat